With a huge sandy beach surrounded by dunes, Fonte do Cortiço Beach is one of the most beautiful in this region. This beach offers the possibility of long walks along the seashore or following the pedestrian routes that depart from here towards Lagoa da Sancha (to the south). To the north, the paths along the coast are located in a fully protected area and are not accessible to the public. The ent... [+ info]

With a huge sandy beach surrounded by dunes, Fonte do Cortiço Beach is one of the most beautiful in this region. This beach offers the possibility of long walks along the seashore or following the pedestrian routes that depart from here towards Lagoa da Sancha (to the south). To the north, the paths along the coast are located in a fully protected area and are not accessible to the public. The entire area of the Natural Reserve has a diverse fauna and flora with unique species.
Fonte do Cortiço Beach is fully integrated into the Santo André and Sancha Lagoons Natural Reserve, combining important coastal ecosystems and deserving particular attention for its natural characteristics. Its extensive sandy beach is surrounded by a large dune and pine forest area, making it characteristic of the region and emblematic for the quality of its landscape and waters. It is a straight beach, covered with very clear sand and unique characteristics. Both Costa de Santo André Beach and Fonte do Cortiço Beach have been awarded the Blue Flag, Accessible Beach, and Golden Flag. They attract a large number of beachgoers, especially in the months of July and August. During the bathing season, the average water temperature may range between 16ºC and 19ºC.

Flora
The vegetation of the Santo André and Sancha Lagoons Natural Reserve and all its flora consist of about 510 species distributed among approximately 80 families. Much of the vegetation is mainly composed of species tolerant to humidity and flooding, high salinity, and the summer retreat of the lagoon waters. Particularly important are the species that settle in the dune cord, usually dominated by sea daffodil, where the priority conservation species, the toadflax, occurs. The shrubs and heaths that populate the dunes include juniper thickets and camarinha heaths. The interior dunes are occupied by dense shrub formations including juniper thickets, gorse heaths, and marcetão heaths. The endemic flora species with the highest conservation value are sea thyme, carnation thyme, and rupturewort, and they concern Lusitanian or nearly endemic species, whose abundance in the Reserve is of high value precisely because they constitute vast and well-preserved populations. As for larger flora, the coastal pine forests stand out, consisting of maritime pine formations (Pinus pinaster). The navicular juniper, existing closer to the ground, indicates the existence of environmental stability, since the species is very sensitive to deforestation. These pine forests, which attract various bird species, are located throughout the Reserve, covering an area of over 592 hectares, and are more common to the south of Santo André Lagoon.

Fauna
In the surrounding areas of Fonte do Cortiço Beach and Santo André and Sancha Lagoons, approximately 20 species of amphibians and reptiles, as well as about 25 species of mammals, are recorded. Among these, the green frog (Rana perezi), the European tree frog (Hyla arborea), the viperine water snake (Natrix maura), and the otter (Lutra lutra) stand out for being species with a constant presence in the lagoon ecosystem. The otter is not very well received by fishermen due to the damage they can cause to the nets, however, there is an increasing awareness of their role in balancing and conserving the species. Also noteworthy are the presences, in the surrounding area of the lagoon and in the dune cord, of the ocellated lizard (Lacerta lepida), the largest lizard in the Portuguese fauna, the Montpellier snake (Malpolon monspessulanus), and the ladder snake (Elaphe scalaris), also two of the largest snakes in the Portuguese fauna. Regarding mammals, the presence of the Granada hare (Lepus granatensis) and the garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus) is constant in the lands and pine forests adjacent to the lagoons and dunes. In the sea, from the beach, some marine mammal species can be observed, including the common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) and the bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), both from the family of popular dolphins, which are frequently observed.